Rural Destinations Gaining in Popularity among Foreign Tourists

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.10.14.

Tourists in Tihany, on the northern shores of Lake Balaton.

Over three million foreign visitors came to Hungary in the summer months, 14 percent more than in the same period last year, Visit Hungary, a subsidiary of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, told MTI.

Foreign guests spent almost eight million nights in Hungary from June-August, an increase of almost six percent year-on-year.

After the Germans, citizens of the Visegrád 4 (Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary) countries and the British contributed the most to the record summer results.

The number of nights spent by British and Slovak tourists rose by 9-9 percent.

In addition, the largest increase in the number of visitors came from China, with twice as many visitors as a year ago.

The number of visitors from Spain increased by 63 percent and from Japan by 42 percent.

According to a press release, the majority of foreigners continued to choose Budapest, but rural destinations are just behind in terms of total nights spent, with around half of these, 49 percent, recorded outside the capital, according to the National Tourism Data Supply Center. Of the tourists visiting the countryside, 1.4 million came from other countries, an increase of five percent compared to last year.

Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest. Photo via Pixabay

Foreign guests contributed HUF 67 billion (EUR 167 million) to the revenues of rural accommodation providers, an increase of 13 percent year-on-year. Over 30 percent of the total revenue of rural accommodation came from foreigners.

Budapest received 1.7 million visitors from other countries, 23 percent more than in the previous year, accounting for almost 90 percent of the capital’s total accommodation revenue, or HUF 103 billion (EUR 256.8 million).

The city of Eger in northern Hungary. Photo via Pixabay

After British and German tourists, travelers from the United States spent the most nights in Budapest.

In a statement, Visit Hungary CEO Oliver Csendes explained that the peak season was a good one from a tourism point of view, partly due to the organization’s spring campaigns. This is important because almost 37 percent of annual foreign overnight stays are registered during this period, therefore the annual tourism performance depends to a large extent on the summer months, he added.

Fact

As Hungary Today previously reported, the number of Scandinavian tourists in the capital are also on the rise. Spanish, Danish, and French tourists are the most likely to visit Hungary in October, November, and December. The Danes have made a big leap in popularity, ranking 16th last year and in the top three this year. The English, Italians, Germans, Greeks, and Swedes have also made the top 10 list of foreign visitors. The latter have made Hungary particularly popular this year, given that last year they were only 18th on the list of visiting nations.

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The slight decline in domestic overnight stays is the result of tourism abroad.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured image via Ungarn Heute